The New Inferno
by ABoyNamedAlex
Summary: This is a modern twist of Dante's first book of the Divine Comedy "Inferno". Some of the things you will read may not make sense and, what can I say? The story was written thousands of years ago, some sentences may not make sense. WARNING: MAY CONTAIN THINGS NOT SUTIBLE FOR SOME READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 9 YEARS OLD (LOL)
1. Chapter 1: The Dark Forest

My name is Dante. I live with my family in a cabin in the forest. My life seemed pretty normal. I went to school in a small town called Alighieri. It is pretty small town, you can tell by the fact that there is no Walmart in sight. Everybody knows everybody and everybody is your friend or relative. Either way, my story began around the mid-point of my teenage years. I was 15 and my sister was 17. My mother had died when I was young and my sister was one of the only female companions I had, if you can call our relationship companionship. We fight a lot and she annoys me to no end. Most of the time she does it because she loves messing with me but we do get into some legitimate arguments from time to time. I worked at a courier company that delivered packages to the the surrounding small businesses. It was my own money and I could do whatever I wanted with it.

I was coming home from a long day on the job. Night had set in and there was a cold wind blowing through the air. I pulled the hood of my black hoodie up to shield my face from the winds icy fingers. I was wearing a black hoodie with a thin army camo vest over it. My jeans were worn and there was a tear at the left knee from me falling down a hill a few months earlier. My shoes were Vans and the bottoms were worn from all the running I did. My long black hair covered my ears but gave no warmth to them. I would have to hurry home or risk freezing to death in this wind.

I picked up my pace. I was going from a brisk walk to a trot. My father told me that my girlfriend Sarah would be coming over to see me. It had been a long time since I had seen her but we had known each other since we were kids. The forest that I lived in was dark and ominous. I heard a wolf cry in the distance. This was not uncommon but it gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I began to run towards my house. I had to stop a few times and look behind me because it felt like I was being followed. I could recognize him as a man but no more than that. He wore a hood and I could not see his face. Every time I tried to get close to see who he was, he vanished. I shook him from my mind and ran towards my house.

When I got there, everything was still and quiet. This was strange because it is usually jumping with the friends my father usually has over. I walked in and the first thing I noticed was the stench.

"Oh mother of god, what the hell happened?" I said taking my hood off and covering my nose.

The smell was horrendous. I thought I was going to throw up. It smelled like rotting flesh and death. Then what I saw made me want to throw up even more. I saw my father, or what I thought was him. His long brown hair was caked with blood and his guts had been spilled out of his stomach. A silver knife he kept with him at all times was sticking out of his eye. I fell over on the floor. My stomach let out a gurgle and I could not hold it in anymore.

I stood up and wiped my mouth off. The first thought that came to mind was Sarah. I ran to my room and looked around. My bed was covered in blood and the walls were covered in it. I looked out an open window and saw a figure laying in a puddle of blood. I ran from the house and around back where I saw the body. As I got closer, I figured out who it was. It was Sarah. I fell to my knees. I held her body in my arms. I heard her breathe out from her mouth. I looked down and saw that her eye were opening.

"Dante? Is that you?" She asked in a weak voice.

"Yea, its me. What happened?" I asked frantically.

"We were attacked. It was someone from out of town. He killed your father and attacked me." she said, her voice growing weaker with every word.

"It's going to be fine, your going to live through this." I said, tears dripping from my eyes.

"Dante, I'm sorry." she said, then she fell back, dead.

I was not a very sad kid. I was reserved, but I always seemed to be happy. This was one of the only times I cried in my entire life. At first I tried to hold it in, but the walls in my eyes could not hold the rush of sadness and water. I put my face in my hands, sobbing to the cold, dark night. Then something happened. I felt a rush of warmth and saw light from in between my fingers. I looked up and saw my love. She was floating above me.

"Do not be afraid, Dante. I am going to a better place." She said.

"Wait! Stop! Don't leave!" I said as she began to float upward. I looked up and saw the only place she could be going, heaven.

But something went wrong. The ground began to shake and dark spirits came from the ground and materialized around her. The smoke turned into a humanoid form. He laughed and grabbed Sarah, pulling her into the forest. I heard her scream. I had no idea what was going on, but my body moved on its own. I ran after them. With me being a courier, I could run fast for a long time. I chased them through the forest and up a hill. I looked forward and saw an enormous set of doors. They were yellow and had demonic symbols painted in red on them. They opened then and swallowed them. They closed just before I could get to it.

"SARAH! NOOOOO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, banging my fist on the doors. "Sarah, why is this happening?"

I fell down to my knees. The tears were coming again, but they stopped when the ground began to shake. I looked around and the ground opened up. Long arms grabbed me and held me up. While some of them were holding me, some were cutting the front of my hoodie to show my mid section. One of the arms came fourth and pricked one of the arms fingers. The blood came out and dripped onto me. The blood spread and turned into a red cross on my chest and turned to fabric. Fabric spread down my arms and twisted around them they ended at my wrists. The hands took needles and red string and began to sew the cross into my chest and the stray fabric into my arms. I howled in pain. I thought I was going to pass out from it, then it stopped. The hands disappeared and I was laying on my back, hoodie torn down the middle and a red cross now sewed to my chest. I slowly pulled my self to my feet and looked up at the gates again.

"Damn, how could I let this happen." I said.

"Have you lost all faith in saving her, human?" a voice asked from behind me.

I turned around and saw a man, but it wasn't a man, it was a spirit. He looked old and had the horns of a crown protruding from his head. He was holding a staff that was curved into a circle. He seemed to be wearing long gray robes and seemed to be hovering above the ground.

"What are you, man or spirit?" I asked.

"Not man, though once I was. I lived under Augustus in the time of the false and lying gods." he said.

Then he began to look familiar. I had seen him in an ancient history textbook at school.

"I know you, you are Vergil, glory of the poets." I said.

Vergil turned from me and looked up at the gates.

"Are they not something to behold? I never thought I would be seeing the gates of hell again." he said.

My eyes flashed in surprise. I looked up and saw pentagrams painted in the doors.

"These are the gates of hell?" I asked.

"Indeed they are, I saw what happened. The evil shade you saw was the shadow of Lucifer himself. This version is a literal 'shadow of his former self'." Vergil replied.

"He has taken Beatrice. How can I get her back?" I asked.

"You must enter hell and take her back." the poet replied.

"I would but I can not open these godforsaken gates." I said.

"Have you lost all faith in God?" he asked.

Then a thought came to mind. I was not a very religious person but now I would be willing to try it if it meant getting my love back. I stood up, looked up at the sky and closed my eyes.

"God, please allow me to open the doors, and if any soul should be saved tonight, please let it be Sarah's." I said.

I opened my eyes. I grabbed two enormous handles and pulled as hard as I could. I heard Sarah scream from within and that made me pull harder. Finally the doors gave and opened. I looked forward and saw a waste land. The sky inside was dark and red. Their was fire raining down from the sky. I looked forward and saw Sarah and Lucifer in front of me.

"Are you ready to be judged in this place of torment?" Lucifer asked.

"Dante, if you don't save me I will be forever damned in this place. You have to save me! DANTE!" she said as Lucifer took her away.

I rushed forward. There was a cliff leading down into a giant pit of fire. Throwing all regard for myself away, I leaped into the pit. I fell down and felt tears come from my eyes again. I knew I would get her back. I was going to get he back if it was the last thing I did. My journey through hell had begun.


	2. Chapter 2: Limbo

I thought I would be landing in fire, but was surprised to be landing on hard ground. I picked myself up and dusted myself off. I looked around and saw mostly darkness. A little light shone through from above and I could see natural pillars that had formed. From a distance, I heard a thundering voice, but I could not make out what it was saying.

"We must go, Dante. The first circle awaits." Vergil said appearing beside me.  
"Fine, the faster I can get through hell, the faster I can get Sarah back." I said.  
Virgil led me forward. We walked for what seemed like hours, then we finally came up on the banks of a large river. In the distance was a enormous ship. Spirits were boarding it.  
"Into the blind world we descend, put all fear aside, or it will haunt you in this place." Vergil said turning to me.  
"Will you be leading me?" I asked.

"I will, but when you go through the circles, and see the tortures of this place, you will feel the woe of a second death." He said.

"I will do anything to save her." I replied

"Then let us move on." he said.

We moved towards the dock. The souls became more and more visible as we approached. Then I heard the thunderous voice again:  
"Through me the way to the city of woe. Through me the way to everlasting torment. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." the voice said.

"This is the banks of the River Acheron. This is where Charon ferries the souls to the first circle of hell." Vergil said.  
"I'm guessing we must pass through here?" I asked.  
The poet nodded. We moved forward. I boarded the ship and it set sail. I noticed something weird. The front of the ship seemed to have a head and a neck. The head turned to look at me and Vergil.  
"You there, who are living, begone from those who are dead." He said.  
"I will not leave! I give you my life, my soul for Sarah's safe return!" I called back.  
"Foolish boy, those belong to us already." He said.  
I turned to look. A demon flew down from somewhere along the river and landed. He was holding a scythe that had a hilt that looked like it was made of the spine of some large creature. The blade was made of some metal that I did not know. The demon wore a hood to hide its face, had wings and had goat legs. It rushed forward at me. I lept aside. The scythe just missed my body. This continued for a while. I was jumping around while the demon was trying to kill me. The scythe seemed to bend like there were ligaments in the hilt. The blade also moved and turned into what looked like a spear at times. Then my break came. The demon swung the scythe and got it stuck in the deck. I launched myself at the demon knocking it over as I crashed into it. It let go of the scythe and I grabbed the hilt. I thought the thing would way a tone but it seemed light as a feather. I swung the scythe as hard as I could, slicing the demon in half and sending blood flying in all directions. The demon fell over dead.  
"You will never get her back human, your soul will forever be damned in this place." Charon said.  
"You know, I'm really sick of your shit." I said.

I lept forward and sunk the blade of the scythe into Charon's head. The creature yelled out in pain as it crashed into the shore, spikes stabbing into him. I lept from my spot and landed on the ground. I looked around and saw barely anything.  
"Welcome to the first circle of hell, Limbo." Vergil said appearing next to me.  
"Vergil! Where did you run off to?" I asked.

"I am nothing more than a guide, I can not help fight the demons you will find in this place." he replied.  
"What kind of creatures lie here?" I asked.  
"Unbaptized babies and virtue less pagans. They did not sin enough to be sent to a lower circle but did not have the required faith to find a place in paradise." He said.  
I had to strain my brain to figure out what he meant in his words. He wasn't speaking in a modern tone. Either way, I heard the cry of a child from a place around me. I walked over to investigate. I found a fetus of a child laying amongst the dirt and dust. I leaned close to it, then my brain hurt. I was having a vision. I saw the birthing room to a hospital. At first I thought it was a normal birth but from the screams I heard, it seemed to be early, too early. The vision ended before I could see more. I was snapped back into reality.  
"Lets move on, Dante. This is not the place for contemplation." Vergil said.  
I looked around. Babies were crawling out from the shadows. They had a single spike that took up most of their arms. They were slow moving at first, but when I turned and ran, they took off after me. I had no wish to harm a child, so I did not kill any of them. I ran on towards a tower looking place. There was a small bridge leading over a small crevice but the bridge had been destroyed.  
"Hurry, Dante! Through here!" the poet said in an open door.

I ran as fast as I could. I lept through the air and crashed through the open doors, which slammed behind me just before the demon babies could get through. I heard the smack and crack of them as they hit the door. I picked myself off of the ground. I seemed to be in a hallway. I moved forward, following Vergil through the dark. I heard voices from behind another door.  
"Whats that? More demons?" I asked.  
"Not exactly." Vergil replied.  
Vergil opened a door and it opened into a large circular room. The room was filled with shades that looked similar to Vergil. I looked around and saw many people from civilizations past. Great leaders, philosophers, and many others. There were to many to tell who was who, but I recognized people like Cesar and Plato. We moved past them and out another door. It opened up to what looked like a platform. Damned souls were lining up. With closer inspection, it looked like they were being judged.  
"Gluttony, murder, greed, sue-a-side, traitor!" the voice of a monster rang out through the area. When we got closer, I saw the figure of a hideous monster.  
"This is King Minos. He judges the damned to the a circle of below." Vergil explained.  
We got closer, the creature seemed to have no eyes but was using its sense of smell to tell what the souls had done in their lives. Soon it sniffed the air and looked over at me.  
"Who comes into my house of pain?" it asked.  
"One who seeks Sarah, tell me where to find her!" I yelled up to him.  
The creature bent down and took a long whiff.  
"I only smell a traitor, glutton, greed, and lust." he replied.  
"Sniff again." I said.  
"You dare speak to the judge of the damned!" he yelled, voice vibrating to walls around us.  
The demon outstretched an arm to grab me but I lept aside. I sliced with my scythe and cut the demons hand. I lept up, feeling new found strength and agility and sliced the demons arm. With still some momentum left, I sliced the creatures face on the way down. He yelled in pain and smashed his fist on the ground, just missing me.  
"I will judge you to the lowest circle of hell!" he said in anger.  
"I think not." I said.  
I lept forward and cut the monsters hand off at the wrist. He fell forward and his face was impaled on a spiked wheel, which spun and sliced he face up, killing him. The demon slid off the platform and down into the depths of hell. I looked where he once was and saw a bridge leading to a crevice that I assumed was the way to the next circle. I looked around and saw souls beginning to float away.  
"The damned are trying to flee, Lucifer will not be pleased." Vergil said.  
"Then let him show his ugly face. If the demons of hell can die here, than so can he!" I said.


End file.
